Harry's Wild Adventures
by RavenGhostWriter
Summary: Harry's life changes after Dudley stabs him in the eyes. Now Harry has to figure out how to cope without eyesight.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Worst Summer **

Thirteen-year-old Harry Potter was in the garden, doing the chores assigned to him by Aunt Petunia. It was a strangely hot day but Harry was glad to be outside and not inside cleaning. He missed Hogwarts and his friends, Ron and Hermione. Hanging out with them sounded much more fun than pulling weeds and watering plants. He had asked Uncle Vernon if they could come over, to which his Uncle Vernon responded by yelling and beating him.

"Hey," Dudley said, coming out of the house. "You're not doing what you're supposed to be doing."

"Yes I am," said Harry, holding up the list. "See? I'm pulling weeds and watering plants!"

"When I came out here, you were just sitting there," said Dudley.

"I was taking a break, it's hot out here," said Harry.

"Well, Mum says you have to get your chores done before Aunt Marge gets here," said Dudley coldly.

"They'll be done, go away!" Harry shot back angrily.

"I'll be back," said Dudley. "I'm going to get something that will help you remove these weeds."

Harry was confused. Dudley never tried helping him. Dudley came back with one of Uncle Vernon's tools. Harry wasn't sure how this tool was supposed to help with pulling the weeds. Dudley smiled wickedly before rushing towards Harry and stabbing at his eyes before Harry could react. Harry didn't realize Dudley could move so fast so he didn't get out of the way in time. A sharp pain in both his eyes caused him to finally register that something happened. He screamed and pushed Dudley away as hard as he could while trying to protect his face from further damage. Within seconds, Aunt Petunia was outside and questioning Dudley about what happened. Harry could not see anything but could feel both tears and a sticky liquid running down his cheeks.

"Harry stabbed himself with this tool!" said Dudley. "I just took it from him so he wouldn't do anything worse!"

"Good job Dudders," said Aunt Petunia in her sweet tone. "You can go inside after you put that tool back in with the rest of your father's tools."

As soon as Dudley went inside, Aunt Petunia tried to stop the bleeding. She couldn't seem to get Harry's eyes to stop bleeding so she handed him a rag to cover them and shooed him inside and up to his room. She had no intention of taking him to the hospital and did not care what the stupid child had done to himself. She checked on him a couple hours later and in a rare moment of compassion, cleaned the blood off of his face before slamming the door.

Harry awoke to blackness and throbbing eyes. He blinked but still saw nothing. He felt his way to the door and opened it, before following the wall downstairs in search of his aunt.

"Aunt Petunia?" asked Harry

"Boy, your aunt isn't in here," said Aunt Marge's voice. "Can't you see that?"

"No I can't see," said Harry.

"Then you need to start paying attention!" barked Aunt Marge.

"What did the boy do now?" Uncle Vernon's voice asked.

"He is claiming that he can't see," said Aunt Marge.

"Boy, do you want me to beat you up again?" Uncle Vernon asked. "Just because you got some special attention from your Aunt Petunia awhile ago when she stopped your eyes from bleeding, doesn't mean you will keep getting that attention!"

Harry couldn't believe this. Why didn't they believe him? He remembered Dudley stabbing him with Uncle Vernon's tool, and now they act as though it wasn't a big deal? He couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts the next day. Maybe Madam Pomfrey could help him.

That night, he struggled with everything, from eating to picking out his clothes for the next day, and packing. He ended up not eating anything, because he was too upset. Aunt Marge and Uncle Vernon kept teasing Harry about how he was greedy for attention. Aunt Petunia, surprisingly, didn't say anything during the meal. It was as if Aunt Petunia knew that something was going on with Harry, but didn't care to ask him if he was ok.

The next morning, Harry asked Aunt Petunia for some help with packing. Aunt Petunia snorted and said, "You can do it yourself!"

"I can't see anything!" said Harry. "Please help me!"

"You are more than capable of packing your own things!" said Aunt Petunia coldly.

Harry sighed. He found his remaining belongings and shoved them into his trunk. It was not very organized but he'd deal with that later.

On the way to King's Cross station, Harry thought about how much his eyes still hurt, wondered if there were outward signs of injury, and if Madam Pomfrey would be able to do anything. How would he explain this to the school nurse without giving away the fact that the Dursleys abused him? He considered the possibility of not going to the matron but quickly decided that was not an option.

When he got to the station, he struggled with finding the correct platform. In fact, he kept bumping into everyone.

"Harry!" said Ron's voice. "What's going on mate? You're bumping into everyone, and you're far away from the platform!"

"I... I can't see anymore," said Harry, not sure how to explain it.

"What do you mean by that?" Ron asked, sounding confused, "What happened to your face, mate?"

"Never mind, just get me to the right platform and onto the train," Harry said in an irritated tone.

On the train, Ron and Hermione tried to get Harry to talk, but he refused.

When they got to Hogwarts, Ron grabbed Harry's hand and walked with him up to the castle.

When inside, Harry heard Hermione say to Ron, "What is going on? You helped him onto the train, and now the castle?"

Ron let go of Harry when he saw Malfoy approach. Harry tried to enter the Great Hall, but immediately bumped into Crabbe. "Sorry," he said, before trying a different direction.

"Mr. Potter!" said Madam Pomfrey's voice. "What are you doing?"

"Going to the Great Hall," Harry said. "Why?"

"Your eyes!" cried Madam Pomfrey. "They look horrible! Hospital wing, now!"

Harry gulped. He felt Madam Pomfrey grab his arm and drag him to the hospital wing.

As Madam Pomfrey dragged him along the hall, Harry attempted to come up with a plan about what to tell her. He knew the truth would be the best but knew he'd have to change some details so she would not find out about his home life.


	2. Discovery

**Chapter 2: Discovery **

Harry sat on a bed in the hospital wing while Madam Pomfrey waved her wand and did some scans on him. He knew that he would have to tell her what happened.

"Mr. Potter," said Madam Pomfrey. "I'm sorry to say that you have lost your sight, and there's nothing that can be done to restore it. Please tell me what happened to cause this in the first place. My scan showed that you were stabbed in the eyes. Who did this to you?"

"I stabbed myself in the eyes," he said nervously.

Madam Pomfrey knew at once that he was lying. The way he sounded and looked told her that he was hiding something.

"Good try, Mr. Potter, but I don't believe for a second that you did that," said Madam Pomfrey. "Please tell me the truth."

"That is the truth!" Harry said.

Madam Pomfrey sighed. She went into her office and fire-called the headmaster. Within minutes, Headmaster Dumbledore was in the room, followed by Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall.

"Harry," said Dumbledore. "What happened to your eyes?"

"I stabbed myself in the eyes!" Harry said, more confidently this time.

Dumbledore shook his head at the other staff in the room. Harry was lying to them.

"If he's going to lie about it, then let's take a look into his mind to find out the truth!" said Professor Snape.

"No Severus. Harry is too young for that, and doing that on a student is not allowed," said Dumbledore.

"Then how else are we going to find out what happened?" Professor Snape asked.

"Would it maybe help if he saw someone who knows what he's going through, and someone who is good at getting the truth out?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Who are you suggesting?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"The person we all know who lost their sight before starting their first year here, who has trained as a mind healer, and works with blind people," said Professor McGonagall.

All of the staff seemed to know exactly whom Professor McGonagall was talking about.

Madam Pomfrey went back into her office, and came back a few minutes later with two people.

"Hello Harry," said a lady's voice. "My name is Kelsey. I'm a medi-witch like Madam Pomfrey is. She and I are going to work on healing the injuries that were caused by the stabbing of your eyes."

Harry sighed. Another nurse to fuss over him, great. This was turning out to be worse than he thought.

"He doesn't like being in here," said Madam Pomfrey. "He thinks I fuss over him too much."

"Then with me here, it'll be double that!" said Kelsey.

"Oh come on, both of you," said a man's voice Harry did not recognize. "You're both not helping with his dislike of being in here."

Harry could tell that Kelsey and Madam Pomfrey were close friends.

"Harry," said the man's voice. "Ignore those two for a minute. My name is Scott. I am a counselor at a training institute in London. I am just going to ask you some questions, and then we'll see what can be done for you."

Harry gulped. A counselor? But Aunt Petunia had always told him that counselors were for people who are mental. So this must make him mental.

Kelsey and Madam Pomfrey worked on healing Harry's injuries, but when Kelsey did a scan for the rest of his body, she almost screamed. Madam Pomfrey gasped. Scott seemed to be confused, so Kelsey turned the results of the scan into braille for him to read. When he was done reading it, the rest of the staff in the room looked at it. Everyone was just as confused as Kelsey was.

Harry was confused, because he wasn't sure what the big deal was.

"Harry, I am aware that your parents were killed. Whom do you live with?" Scott asked.

"My Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon," said Harry, sounding confused. "Why?"

"Do they treat you well?" Scott asked.

Harry fidgeted for a moment. He knew that he had to lie and say that they treat him ok, but he was scared that if Scott found out that Harry had lied, he would be in trouble. He had apparently tuned out everything around him, because the next thing he knew, there was a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Mr. Potter, Scott asked you a question," said Professor Snape.

"Yes, they treat me fine," Harry quickly said, hoping that was good enough of an answer.

"I think there's something you're hiding from us," said Scott.

Harry's heart dropped. Scott knew that Harry was lying. What would happen now?

"Do your aunt and uncle have any children?" Scott asked.

"Yes, a son named Dudley."

"How does he treat you?" Scott asked.

"He treats me fine! Leave me alone!" Harry said. He was quickly losing his temper. He stood to leave, but just when he was about to leave, Professor Snape moved forward and grabbed his shoulders.

"You're not leaving until we say you can," said Professor Snape. "Now sit down."

Harry sighed in defeat. It looked as though this was only the beginning.

"I know this is a touchy subject for you Harry, but I need you to be honest with me," said Scott.

Something in Scott's tone of voice tore down all his walls. He knew that there would be no getting out of this one.

"According to what I saw in your results of the scan Kelsey did, you have bruises, scrapes, cuts, and so many more things, all over your body. So someone had to be doing this to you. Can you tell me who?"

"M-my uncle," Harry said quietly.

"How often does he hurt you?"

"Whenever I'm bad," Harry said.

"And when are you bad?"

"If I don't do my chores when I'm supposed to, when I don't do something exactly right, and well, whenever they say I'm bad."

Scott didn't like this at all. It seemed that Harry had been abused more than anyone knew. All of the teachers were thinking close to the same thing.

"What do they call you?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Boy or Freak," Harry said. He knew that he had said too much. He felt like he was going to pass out.

Scott and Professor Snape seemed to notice Harry panicking before anyone else. Professor Snape glared at the headmaster. This was his fault. Why would this old man leave a child with a family like this?

Scott could have used calming magic, but decided that Harry might feel uncomfortable with that, only just met him, so he instead, tried to calm him down by telling him how to breathe. After a couple of minutes, Harry calmed down.

"Back with us? Well, I just have a couple more questions for you today. Firstly, does Dudley intentionally hurt you?"

"Yes."

"Was it him who stabbed your eyes?" Scott asked. All the staff stood, waiting to see if it was what they hoped it wasn't.

"Yes," Harry said, almost in a whisper.

Harry turned away from everyone and said, "Now leave me alone."

Madam Pomfrey had Harry drink a Dreamless Sleep Potion, explaining that he would be staying there for the night.

Twenty minutes later, there was a big group of people in the headmaster's office. Scott, Professors Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick, Kelsey, a lady named Karen, and another lady named Shannon.

"Good evening to you all. My name is Shannon, and I'm the programs manager for the company I work for. Next to me is Karen. She's a counselor at the Training Institute For The Blind in London. And of course, you all know Scott already. We all are here to discuss the services that our company can provide for Harry. But before we get started, can anyone tell me whose idea it was to leave Harry with his aunt and uncle?"

"It was mine," said Dumbledore.

"And why would you leave a child at a place like that?" Karen asked.

"Well, he is safe there, and safety comes first," said Dumbledore.

"Safe from what, exactly?" Karen asked.

"From Voldemort and his Death Eaters," said Dumbledore.

"Albus, I understand that you wanted Harry to be safe and protected from Voldemort, but he wasn't safe or protected from his family," said Scott.

"Well, I'll just talk to them and tell them to treat him better," said Dumbledore.

Professor McGonagall and Shannon glared at him.

"No. Harry's not going back to that place!" said Professor McGonagall angrily. "What are you thinking?"

"Minerva's right," said Shannon. "I don't really know who this Voldemort person is, but he must be pretty scary."

"Oh he is," said Professor McGonagall. "He is a Dark Lord who was defeated in 1981. He is always targeting Harry. We're afraid that he might come back to power someday."

"He kills everyone who crosses his path, whether it's a Muggle or not," said Snape.

Shannon and Karen didn't like the sound of this dark lord at all.

"Well, it's this simple. He's not going back there. He might be protected from a dark lord, but he's not protected in the home," said Shannon.

The rest of the staff nodded in agreement. Dumbledore sighed. He was losing this battle.

"Where will he stay?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Everyone looked at Dumbledore, expecting him to have the answer.

"I am sure that the Weasleys would like to take him in," he said slowly.

"Then that's settled," said Professor McGonagall, before he could change his mind. "I will send a letter to the Weasley family later tonight."

"Good," said Shannon. "Now, about Harry's services with us. First, Harry needs an assigned counselor. Our choices are Karen or Scott. However, I think it would be best to have Scott be Harry's counselor, because Scott's magical, has lost his sight as well, but in a different way, and he is a trained mind healer, and by the sounds of it, Harry's pretty emotional."

Everyone agreed on that decision.

"Harry will come to me if Scott's not available," said Karen.

"Good, thank you Shannon and Karen," said Scott. "I believe that Harry should get some training at The Training Institute For The Blind. I understand that this would affect his classes here, and I understand that he loves it here, but he can always do his homework at the Training Institute, and I can help him with the subjects, if needed."

"How long would he be there?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"It really depends on the student. Some stay for a couple of weeks, and some stay for several months. It depends on what he needs to learn, and the pace of his learning."

"Well, I don't see why not," said Professor Flitwick. "You can always help him with the homework. After all, you got all O's on every class you took here, and you took every single class Hogwarts offer. I still don't understand how you did it, and still had time for fun."

"I agree," said Professor McGonagall. "Mr. Potter can get his training and do his homework all while at the Training Institute."

"It's settled then," said Shannon. "Harry will be able to see his friends anytime, as long as it's before 2200. Harry will leave in the morning."

The staff all agreed on this plan before departing for the night.


	3. Training

**Chapter 3: The Training Institute For The Blind **

Harry awoke the next morning in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey gave him breakfast and told him to eat. Harry didn't feel like eating, but did so because he had a feeling that Madam Pomfrey was watching him. After breakfast, the door to the hospital wing opened.

"Hello Harry," said the voice of Professor Dumbledore. "How are you this morning?"

"Fine," Harry said out of habit. "Am I in trouble?"

"Why would you be in trouble?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"For lying yesterday," Harry said.

"No, you're certainly not in trouble for lying Harry. You were just scared. That's understandable," said Professor Dumbledore. "Now, I would like you to know that you're not going to start classes here but you will not fall behind in your studies. Instead, you're going to the Training Institute For The Blind in London."

"I'm going where?" Harry asked, sounding shocked.

"It's a place for people who are blind to learn skills so you can be independent like the rest of your peers," said Professor Dumbledore.

"NO!" Harry said. "I'm not going to fall behind in school so that I can go get training!"

"You will do your homework there," said Professor Dumbledore. "Remember Scott? He'll be there, and he'll help you with your schoolwork so you can understand it and get it done."

"I'm not going!" Harry said. "For all I know, this could all be a trick and this place could be for mental people!"

"I assure you Harry, it's not for mental people," said Professor Dumbledore. "And yes, you are going. Seeing as you never got to unpack last night, we'll just head out now."

"No!" Harry said angrily.

The next thing he knew, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were in the room, and with all four staff helping, they were able to drag Harry out to the gates of Hogwarts so that the headmaster could apparate him to the Training Institute.

Harry and Professor Dumbledore arrived, and pressed the buzzer to be let inside. They went to a room that they called Support Services.

"Hello, you must be Harry!" said a lady's voice.

"Y-yes," Harry said nervously.

"I'm Clara. I work here in Support Services," said the lady. "At night, Kelsey works in here. You know Kelsey, don't you?"

Harry groaned. "Yes," he said. This was great; the nurse, who did the scan on him the day before and made it obvious to the others that the Dursleys had treated him horribly, would see him every night.

"Well, you will have room 316," said Clara. "Here is your key. Why don't you unpack, then I'll let Noah know that you're here. He will give you a tour of the building, and give you a cane."

"A what?" Harry asked. "Canes are for old people."

"These are canes for blind people use to navigate smoothly," said Clara. "See? I have one, because I'm blind too!"

Harry felt the cane, and decided that he didn't want one.

"No worries, you're much shorter than me, so you'll get one that's much shorter," said Clara. "Please come to Support Services if you have any questions. Oh, and one more thing. Here's a recorder with your schedule on it. You will just use this for now, until you talk to your counselor about the best option for getting things to you. That could mean getting a tablet of some sort."

"I'm not allowed to have stuff like that," Harry said.

"Says who?" Clara asked.

"My aunt and uncle," Harry said.

"Harry, you're not going back there," said Professor Dumbledore. "They no longer have control over what you can and cannot do."

"Wait, so I'm homeless?" Harry asked. "I was so bad that they kicked me out? Oh no, oh no, oh no! Uncle Vernon will kill me!"

"Harry..." Clara started, but was cut off.

"I bet I'll last here for a week or so, then you'll get tired of me and throw me out because I'm a freak," Harry said.

Professor Dumbledore sent a patronus to Scott. Harry was panicking again.

Clara moved forward and tried giving Harry a hug, but Harry wasn't having any of it.

"Don't touch me!" he said angrily as he flinched away.

"What's going on here?" Scott's voice asked.

"I was trying to tell Harry about his new living arrangements, but he started panicking, thinking that the Dursleys kicked him out for being bad and he's now calling himself a freak and thinking that he's homeless," said Professor Dumbledore.

"Ok. Has Harry gotten his key yet?" Scott asked Clara.

"Yes, he has his key," said Clara. "He will need to sign papers, but he can come back and do that when he's calmer."

Scott thanked Professor Dumbledore for bringing Harry before instructing Harry to take his arm. Harry protested at first, but finally obeyed.

The next thing Harry knew, he was sitting in a room Scott explained was his office.

"Harry, I want you to calm down," he said. "You are not going back to the Dursleys, and it's not because they kicked you out. No, you're not homeless either. The Weasley family is willing to take you in. You were removed from the custody of the Dursleys because yesterday, we found out that you were being abused."

"I was NOT abused, they were just punishing me when I was bad!" Harry said.

"Yes, it was abuse. They physically hurt you, and they hurt you emotionally. We had a big meeting last night after we left you in the hospital wing, and we discussed this."

"But the Weasleys will probably kick me out!" Harry said. "Especially when they see what a freak I am!"

"You are not a freak," said Scott. "You are just like the rest of us, human."

Harry didn't know what to say. He just wished he could run away.

"Oh, and that reminds me," said Scott. "There are cameras all around this building, and you can't leave without telling a staff member and signing out. If you try leaving without signing out, we'll be able to see that with the cameras and someone will stop you."

Harry sighed. He couldn't even run away, what was this place, a prison?

Scott knew that Harry wasn't totally convinced that everything was going to be ok, but he planned on talking to Harry more about this throughout his stay.

"I will take you back to Support Services now," said Scott. "You will sign the necessary papers, then our activity director, Noah, will give you a cane, and give you a tour."

Harry found himself being shown around the building by Noah, who was very nice. Noah went over his schedule with him, and so Harry would know where all his classes would be held. He didn't understand why there was a computer class if he couldn't see the screen, but Noah said that blind people use a screen reader on the computers. Harry didn't know what that meant, but knew that he would find out soon enough. He also didn't understand why he had counseling almost every day. He didn't need this counseling. After all, counselors were meant to help the people who are mental. Now that Scott knew that he was a freak, he must really want to see him to make sure that he didn't get into more trouble.

While the tour was still going on, Harry met Karen, who just so happened to be in the hall.

"Hello Harry, I'm Karen. I'm a counselor here. If Scott's not available, you can come see me, and we will talk about whatever might be bothering you," she said.

"Scott won't want to talk to me," Harry said. "He knows I'm a freak."

"You're not a freak Harry," said Karen. "And of course Scott will want to talk to you! He's your counselor!"

Harry wasn't sure about that. After he met Karen, he then got to meet Shannon, who explained that she was the one who decided he wouldn't be returning to the Dursleys. After the tour, it was time for lunch. Harry didn't want to eat, so he sat at a table without actually getting any food.

"Hello Harry," said Clara. "Aren't you hungry?"

"How do you know I don't have food? I thought you said you couldn't see either," said Harry.

"I can see a little bit. Just enough to see that you didn't get anything to eat," said Clara. "Are you ok?"

"I'm not hungry," said Harry.

"But doesn't chicken sound good to you?" Clara asked. "And there's pudding once you finish the main meal. You wouldn't want to miss out on sweets, would you?"

"Freaks aren't allowed to eat sweets," Harry said.

"No one's here saying that you can't have dessert," said Clara. "I say you can, but you have to eat your meal first. Would you like to come with me to get some food?"

"No, I'm fine," said Harry.

Clara left the table, not sure what else to do. She decided it was probably just one of those days where maybe he just wasn't hungry for lunch. She didn't want to push him too much. But that night, when Harry wouldn't eat again, Clara put it into Harry's notes, so Kelsey and Scott would be able to see it, and decide if it was worth worrying about or not.

After dinner, Noah invited Harry for a game of Bingo in what was called the Social Room, but Harry turned down the offer, and went to his room.

Later that night, Harry was laying on his bed, thinking about his day and how it seemed like the staff wouldn't leave him alone, when suddenly, his head felt like it was going to burst. It felt like his scar was on fire. He got up to go check himself in the mirror, but then remembered that he couldn't see the mirror. He decided he would try to tough through it for the night, and worry about it in the morning. He didn't want to go to Support Services. He didn't want them to think of him as a baby because he couldn't deal with a headache.

Probably just a migraine, he thought.


	4. The Mystery

The Disclaimer I think we both forgot on this story: This applies to all chapters, past, present, and future. Harry Potter and his World belong to JK Rowling. This is being written for fun and no copyright infringement is intended. Thank you.

**Chapter 4: The Mystery **

The next morning, Harry awoke to his scar hurting even more than it had the night before. He went to breakfast and tried to go to a table without getting food, only to be stopped by Kelsey's voice.

"Harry, go get something to eat please," she said.

"I'm not hungry," Harry said.

"That's what you said at lunch and dinner last night," said Kelsey. "You're not leaving this room until you eat something."

Harry sighed in frustration. He didn't want to eat. He decided to get the food, just so Kelsey would leave him alone, and he just wouldn't eat it.

Harry sat at one of the tables with his food, but just pushed it around his plate.

"Good try Harry," said Kelsey. "Stop playing with your food and eat it."

"I'm not hungry!" Harry said. "Leave me alone!"

"Things not going well in here?" Scott's voice asked.

Harry gulped. Fantastic, now there was another person to get on his case about eating.

"Harry won't eat," said Kelsey. "I convinced him to get food, but he's just playing around with it."

"Ok Harry, I'm going to sit next to you," said Scott.

"So am I," said Kelsey. She and Scott sat down with Harry. Kelsey noticed Harry repeatedly rubbing his forehead.

"Do you have a headache Harry?" Kelsey asked.

"No," Harry said.

"Then what's wrong?" Kelsey asked.

"Nothing," Harry said quickly.

Scott knew better than to believe that response. "Harry, does your head hurt?" Scott asked.

"Yes, but it's nothing," Harry said.

"Nothing you say? I think not. There's always a reason for everything," said Kelsey, taking out her wand. She waved it above his head. She didn't find anything wrong. No headaches, no migraines, nothing.

"Scott, I can't find anything wrong," she said worriedly.

"I'll do a scan to see what it might be," said Scott. "It must be something."

Harry suddenly felt a hand on his forehead, and a bit of tickling magic. It only lasted for a second, however.

"Harry, is your scar hurting?" Scott asked knowingly.

"Yes," Harry said.

"Just as I thought. Harry, please eat breakfast, then head to class. I'll ask Karen to come down to make sure you eat and get to your first class. Kelsey, come with me please."

Harry was really worried now. This sounded serious. What was wrong with him?

Kelsey was worried, even more so as she watched Scott cast a patronus messenger to Dumbledore, asking him to meet them in Scott's office. They arrived in the office just moments before Albus Dumbledore stepped through the door.

"What's going on?" Dumbledore asked.

"Albus, is Harry a horcrux?" Scott asked.

"Well, yes," said Dumbledore. "I believe it is contained within his scar."

"Wait a moment, what is a horcrux?" Kelsey asked. "I don't remember learning about those in school."

"A horcrux is a piece of someone's soul," said Scott. "Voldemort has 7 of them. This information is far too dark to be taught in school. There were books in the restricted section at one point but I think Albus removed them when he took over as Headmaster."

"How would Harry have a horcrux inside of him?" Kelsey asked. "If the books were removed, how do you know about horcruxes, Scott?"

"I once had a rather long conversation with a Gringotts curse breaker about the sorts of things they find in tombs. Continue, Albus."

"It's a long story, and a story we don't have time to tell," said Dumbledore. "Now Scott, this isn't a concern at all. Harry...'"

"I apologize for interrupting, but it is a concern," said Scott. "It's starting to affect his scar, and now he's having scar pain."

Kelsey suddenly understood why Harry's head was hurting. It was his scar.

"I'm sure that it's nothing to worry about yet," said Dumbledore. "He's too young to have it removed."

"I disagree," said Scott. "I'll be keeping an eye on Harry. If his scar is still hurting this evening, I will contact St. Mungo's to ask that one of their Healers remove it. Harry's been having many issues. First, we found out about the abuse at the hands of his aunt and uncle, and then we find out that he's calling himself a freak, and not trusting what others say. Then we find out that he's not eating anything."

"Wait, what?" Dumbledore asked. "He won't eat either?"

"No he won't," said Kelsey. "We tried to get him to eat yesterday, but he refused."

"Oh dear," said Dumbledore.

"I hate to say this, but because of your decision to leave Harry with his aunt and uncle, now this is how he is," said Kelsey. "It's going to take a lot of work and time to help him get out of this."

"I'm sorry," said Dumbledore. "I just thought that Harry would be safe. I was mistaken."

"We'll do our best to help him," said Scott. "Now, we must be going. I have students to see this morning."

Kelsey and Dumbledore left the office, going their separate ways.

Harry didn't like how Karen kept bugging him about eating. He was three minutes late to class because Karen wouldn't let him leave the table until he ate something. Karen told him that was because she cared about him, but he didn't believe her for a second.

When Harry got to his first class, which was Travel, he immediately started to hate that class. The instructor wanted him to go walk around the building, to show her that he knew the building by memory. She kept correcting him when he didn't use his cane right, and if he took a wrong turn, he would have to start all over again. There was another student in there too, and that student seemed to be just fine with all this. He didn't understand how that student could be so calm about this. He just wanted to go outside and walk around. He was tired of being stuck inside. Being stuck inside reminded him of a time when the Dursleys punished him when he tried going outside to play with Dudley when he was six years old.

After lunch, in which Clara observed him throughout the whole meal and made sure he ate, Harry finally decided that he had had enough. He walked out of the building and started walking down the sidewalk, without signing out or telling a staff member. He didn't care; he just wanted to be away from this place for a while. He was starting to feel better when he heard a voice calling his name.

"Harry!" said a voice he didn't know.

He started running in order to get away from the voice. The next thing he knew, the person caught him.

"Let go of me! Who are you anyway?" Harry asked.

"I'm Carrie. I'm the director of the Training Institute," said the voice. "What are you doing out here without telling a staff member?"

Harry felt panic start to build up. The director caught him, and now he would be in trouble. "I just wanted to get out!" Harry said, feeling tears running down his cheeks. "I'm tired of being stuck inside! The staff members would have said no either way!"

"No to going outside?" Carrie asked. "I don't think so. You have the freedom to go outside whenever you wish, as long as you let a staff member know."

"But everyone's bugging me about eating, and I couldn't even travel outside in Travel class this morning!" Harry said. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to get into trouble! Please don't kick me out! I'll be good!"

"Come with me," Carrie said gently. He took her arm, but only because he didn't want to get into more trouble.

Carrie led a very upset Harry to Karen's office, seeing as she was the only one available. Karen seemed to be waiting for them. Carrie filled her in on what Harry was going through.

"Harry, we all care about you here," said Karen. "All we want is to make sure you're safe. That's why we want to know when you're going to leave the building. It's not because we don't want you going outside. All students start their Travel classes inside. It has nothing to do with you. Also, we just want you to eat so that you won't starve. People can die from starving themselves. Did you get food much at your aunt and uncle's?"

"No, just scraps of Dudley's left-overs," Harry said. "And some days, I wouldn't eat at all, especially if I was really bad."

"So, they would punish you by not letting you have any food?" Karen asked.

"Yes," Harry said.

Karen went to her computer, and started writing notes. Scott would need to know what they talked about. She suddenly thought of something.

"Have you ever self-harmed?" she asked.

"N-no," Harry stuttered.

"Never?" Karen asked.

Harry lowered his head and shook his head. Karen had a bad feeling about this. The fact that Harry looked away from her before shaking his head showed that he was hiding something big.

"What about your scar? Is it still hurting?" Karen asked.

Harry shook his head, still looking down at the ground.

"Very well," said Karen. "You can go. But please, just inform a staff member the next time you want to leave the building."

Harry nodded before leaving the room.

"He was lying," said Carrie.

"Yes, but I think he's scared to accept help," said Karen. "Plus, I think that the Dursleys told him to lie his way out of revealing information about them."

"Will he ever come out of this?" Carrie asked.

"With time, yes, I think so," said Karen. "But I'll send my notes to Scott. I think he has a lot to talk about with Harry. Plus, I think his scar's still hurting, even though he won't admit it."

Carrie nodded in agreement.


	5. The Prank

**Chapter 5: The Prank **

Harry finished his classes for the day, and decided to go to his room. As soon as he got there, he heard voices he knew belonged to Ron and Hermione.

"Ron? Hermione? What are you two doing here?" Harry asked.

"We came to see you," said Ron. "Professor McGonagall will be back for us later. So, how do you like it here mate?"

Harry smiled. "It's ok," he said. "Hey, Ron, you know how Madam Pomfrey fusses over us? Well, the nurse here, Kelsey, fusses over me even more!"

"I'm sorry mate," said Ron. "How are the other staff members?"

"My counselor Scott is ok, and the other counselor Karen is sort of ok," said Harry, shrugging. "The Support Services lady, Clara, is really nice. She's blind."

"When does Clara come in?" Ron asked.

"She's already here," Harry said. "Why?"

"You said she's blind?" Ron asked. "Well, let's do a prank on her!"

"I don't know Ron," Harry said. "I might get in trouble, then I'll be kicked out."

"Kicked out?" Ron asked. "Nah, you won't be. This will be harmless! Come on mate, you used to have fun with pranks!"

"Well, I guess," Harry said uncertainly.

"Great!" said Ron, "I have a squeaky rubber chicken toy with me. We'll wait until she's out of the Support Services room, and we'll sneak in there and put it on her chair!"

"For once, even I don't see the harm in this prank," said Hermione.

Harry still felt unsure. What if Clara told Scott, Karen, or worse, Carrie? He would be out for sure.

"Does Clara ever leave the room?" Ron asked.

"Yes, for building check every two hours," Harry said.

"Great!" said Ron, "Then let's do it when she does a building check!"

"Yes! Let's do it!" said Hermione. "I'll stay in the hall to make sure she doesn't sneak up on us. You two will put it on her chair."

Ron and Hermione stayed for dinner, in which they got to meet Clara. Harry ate this time, knowing that Clara would be checking on him every now and then.

After dinner, Clara went to do building check. Harry and Ron went into Support Services while Hermione stayed out in the hall. Ron took the rubber chicken out of his bag, and set it on Clara's chair. Harry squeaked it once, to make sure that it worked. They left the room, and stood in the hall, waiting for her to come back. She finally came back, and didn't even notice them in the hall. Harry felt like he was going to panic. This was it. Once she found out that he did it with his friends, he would be packing up.

The three friends stood, listening to Clara set her keys down, and adjusts her chair in preparation to sit down. The next thing they knew, there was a loud squeak. Clara started laughing really hard. She came out to where they were standing, and said, "Who's out here?"

"It's Ron, Harry, and Hermione," said Ron.

Clara started laughing again. "Did you three put that rubber chicken toy on my chair?" she asked.

"Yes," said Hermione. Now Harry's friends were laughing along with Clara.

"Aren't you mad?" Harry asked her.

"Mad? No way!" said Clara. "I needed a good laugh!"

"Really?" Harry asked. "But, aren't you going to report me?"

"No way!" said Clara. "There was no harm done, so I don't see any reason to report you Harry!"

Harry was relieved. Maybe he could trust Clara.

For the rest of that evening, the three friends played chess that Ron brought with him, in which Ron had to tell Harry what was going on in the game, and then they played some of the Muggle games that the Training Institute owned.

When Professor McGonagall came to pick Ron and Hermione up, she found a much more relaxed Harry. He thanked her for allowing his friends to visit and she promised him it would not be their only visit. She also gave him a thick packet of material that contained his schoolwork for the upcoming week. Harry quickly retrieved his completed work from his room and turned it over to her so she could take it back to Hogwarts. Harry hugged Ron and Hermione and waved as they exited the building.


	6. The Long Talk

Note: Still writing for fun, no copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 6: The Long Talk **

The next morning, Harry had just finished eating breakfast when Kelsey stopped by his table.

"Harry, I'm proud that you ate your breakfast without me saying anything this morning!" she said before continuing, "But I'm here to tell you that Scott wants to see you immediately after breakfast. You have a free hour, so it'll be a good time to talk to him."

Harry chewed on his lip as he walked to Scott's office. What was it now?

"Hello Harry," said Scott as soon as Harry walked in. "Please take a seat."

Harry fidgeted for a moment while Scott opened Harry's file.

"Harry, I see that Karen talked to you yesterday after you had a little adventure outside," said Scott.

Harry tensed up. He knew about him leaving the building without informing a member of staff?

"Also," Scott continued. "Karen said that you told her that your scar was no longer hurting, but she had a feeling you were not telling her the truth. So Harry, is your scar still hurting?"

"A bit," Harry said. "It hasn't really stopped. What's wrong with me? I haven't had this happen before!"

"Harry, calm down. I had a meeting with your headmaster and Kelsey yesterday morning to discuss your scar pain. There's something that Professor Dumbledore hasn't told you about yet because he believes that you're too young to know about this, however, I'm going to tell you, because I believe you have the right to know. Lord Voldemort has seven horcruxes. Horcruxes are pieces of someone's soul stored inside of another object. Only very dark magic can create one. I, for one, wouldn't be able to create a horcrux unless I suddenly turned dark. When someone has horcruxes, they can't be killed unless each horcrux is destroyed. Do you understand what I'm saying so far?" Scott didn't want to scare Harry with too much information at once, so decided to give him time to think about it.

"I think so," Harry said. "But what does this have to do with my scar pain?"

"Voldemort encased five of seven of his horcruxes in inanimate objects. However, his sixth and seventh ones are inside of living things. One is his snake, Nagini; the other is inside of your scar. You are a horcrux, and your body is fighting the presence of the foreign bit of soul. The longer it is present within you, the more harm it will do to both your physical and mental wellbeing."

"But won't I be a horcrux for my whole life?" Harry asked.

"No," said Scott. "Normally, you destroy the object that is a horcrux, which in the old days, if a human was made a horcrux, the human would have to be killed. However, times have changed, and there's a way to get rid of the horcrux without killing the host."

Harry straightened up in his chair.

"Healers from St. Mungo's can remove the horcrux from you," said Scott. "Professor Dumbledore doesn't want it removed yet, but I have a bad feeling that you would only feel worse from this point on. So, if you give me permission, I will be contacting the Healers from St. Mungo's who will remove the horcrux."

"Will it hurt?" Harry asked fearfully.

"No. You would be unaware of what they're doing. There will be no pain involved."

"Ok," Harry said. "When can we do it?"

"I will get in touch with St. Mungo's and find out when they think we should do it," Scott said. "Now, there's something else I want to talk to you about today."

Harry sighed. He had been hoping that this would have been the end of their conversation.

"Karen said that she asked you if you have ever self-harmed. You told her no," said Scott. "But she thinks you're hiding something big from her. So Harry, would you please share with me your personal opinions about self-harming?"

Harry bit his lip. This was not what he expected to be talking about. He really didn't want to talk about this. If Scott found out what he did after Dudley stabbed his eyes, then the whole Training Institute would know, and everyone would be disappointed in him and think he was a freak. He didn't realize that he was panicking until he felt himself coming back to the present, and his mind calming down. He noticed that Scott was holding his hand, and was letting some weird kind of magic flow into his hand. Whatever this magic was, it was calming him down, and he could no longer panic.

"Feel better?" Scott asked.

"Y-yes," Harry said. "But what are you doing?"

"I'm using calming magic to help you calm down," said Scott. "You got yourself into a pretty intense panic attack. This tells me that something's bothering you. Would you care to tell me what it is?"

Harry noticed that Scott was still letting the calming magic flow into him, but didn't really care at the moment. Before he could stop himself, he spilled out something he hadn't told anyone before.

"My aunt and uncle were really mad at me for supposedly lying about not being able to see, that my uncle told me to punish myself. I... I cut, and…. it felt good."

"Was that the first time you've ever cut?" Scott asked.

"Yes," Harry said. "I haven't done it since, but I'm scared that I'll do it again. I don't want to do it again Scott! But it felt so good, it's tempting!" Harry felt a few tears fall down his face. No, no crying. Crying wasn't allowed.

"Harry, when was the last time you cried?" Scott asked.

"Crying's not allowed," Harry said.

"Was that a rule at the Dursleys?" Scott asked.

"Yes," Harry said. "They say that crying's a sign of weakness."

He suddenly realized that this calming magic was making him say more than he should. He suddenly pulled his hand away. Scott let go, not wanting to make Harry feel trapped. He was pleased that Harry had told him what he had, but he feared that this was only the beginning, and that Harry could have a mental breakdown sooner than later.

"There's one more thing I would like to discuss with you before you go," he said. "I see that you haven't been hanging out with the other students here. The only people you've been hanging out with are your friends from Hogwarts. I would love to see you make friends here too. It would be great to have friends who are blind like you."

"I'm not supposed to have friends, and I already have Ron and Hermione, so I already have too many friends," Harry said. "I can't have any more friends."

"You can never have too many friends Harry," said Scott. "Without friends, you'll feel lonely. Feeling lonely is never a fun feeling. I encourage you to get out of your comfort zone, and meet some of the students here. You always sit at a table in the cafeteria all by yourself, and even in classes, you never talk to the other students, only the teachers. Do you think you can try meeting some more people Harry?"

"I can try," Harry said. "Are you sure I can have friends?"

"I'm positive. Now, off to class with you, I will talk to you when I hear from the Healers."

Harry quickly left the room, glad to finally be done with that conversation, but also noticing that Scott was really there to listen, and that maybe he could be trusted.


	7. Removing The Horcrux

**Chapter 7: Removing The Horcrux **

Harry spent the rest of the day going to his classes, but thinking endlessly about the horcrux inside of him. He really hoped that the healers could remove it.

At dinner, Clara came to his table with another student.

"Harry, this is Rose," said Clara. "She is looking for someone to have dinner with, so I decided to have you two eat and meet each other."

Harry almost felt like saying no, but thinking back to his conversation with Scott, he didn't want to let anyone down.

"Ok," he said. Rose sat next to him and said, "Hi Harry! How are you?"

"I'm good," Harry said.

"That's great. So, who is your counselor?"

Harry told her briefly about Scott.

"Oh, I have Karen as my counselor," Rose said after Harry was done. "She's a great counselor."

"But she's strict," Harry said.

"She can be, if you cross the line with her. But she's really nice and always listens. Don't you like Karen?"

"Not really," Harry said. "I was in her office once, but it was right after I broke the rules and left without telling a staff member."

"Was she mad?" Rose asked.

"Well, not exactly," Harry said. "But she wrote down everything we talked about, and gave it to Scott."

"If you're talking to a counselor who's not your assigned counselor, they have to tell your counselor what you talk about," said Rose. "Trust me, when I was new here, I was scared of Karen, because I heard people talk bad about her. I went to Scott instead, and while he listened to what I had to say, and made me feel a bit better about having Karen, he still wrote it all down. But trust me, when you get to know Karen more, you'll find that she's an amazing counselor."

After dinner, Rose invited him to play a game of Uno with her. He hesitated but accepted the offer. They went into the social room and played the game. Harry found it to be a lot of fun, even if they had to get one of the student assistants in there to help Harry read the cards, seeing as he didn't know enough braille yet.

After the game, Harry was on his way to his room when he heard a voice.

"Harry," said Kelsey's voice. Harry spun around, confused on why Kelsey was so early that day.

"I have a message to pass on to you from Scott," said Kelsey.

"Oh?" Harry asked, hope filling him.

"Yes," said Kelsey. "He says that he will be taking you to St. Mungo's first thing in the morning to have the horcrux removed. Right after breakfast, you are to meet him at the entrance doors. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Harry said.

The next morning, Harry was too nervous to eat. Kelsey told him that if he didn't eat, she would give him a nasty potion to take so he wouldn't lose any more weight. He ended up eating, not wanting to know what that potion tasted like. Harry wasn't looking forward to missing his classes, but the instructors said that this was much more important at the moment and that his training would continue the next day.

Harry made his way to the entrance, and stood, waiting for Scott to arrive. He was really getting nervous now. He was worried that they wouldn't be able to get the horcrux out.

"Hello Harry," said Karen's voice. "Are you doing ok?"

Harry nodded.

"Nervous?" Karen asked gently. He nodded again. "Well, you know that it'll all go very well," said Karen. "I'm sure that the healers will do a good job. There's no need to be nervous." She gave him a hug, ignoring his flinch.

Harry felt a little bit better.

"Ah, and there's Scott now," said Karen. "Good luck Harry."

Harry and Scott left the building, and headed over to St. Mungo's.

Harry tried to be brave as they waited in the busy waiting area. His head was spinning in wonder after their trip on the Tube and he was pretty sure they entered the hospital through what all the surrounding muggles thought was a window. Scott explained the entrance to him but Harry did not quite understand what wizards had against normal building entrances. The waiting area was chaotic and filled with all sorts of strange noises and to Harry's disgust, smells. Scott seemed to be flipping through a magazine and Harry was briefly distracted with asking how the reading charm worked.

"Harry Potter?" called a voice from across the room.

All of the voices in the room abruptly stopped as Harry and Scott made their way towards the orderly.

"Follow me please. A Healer will be in shortly to speak with you."

The orderly led them to a treatment room and shut the door. A short time later, two Healers entered the room. They described the process briefly to Harry before giving him a potion to place him in a magical sleep. Scott moved to a chair towards the door and listened to the spells being cast by the Healers. An inhuman scream announced the separation of the soul fragment from its host. Scott shivered at the sound and moved closer to Harry when the Healer informed him they were done and the potion would wear off within the next ten minutes.

"Is it gone?"

"Yes Harry, the removal was successful, how do you feel?" asked Scott.

"Tired and my head hurts a bit."

"Do you feel like you can stand?"

At Harry's slight grunt, Scott helped him sit up then stand. After being checked one last time by a Healer, Scott led him outside and into a side alley. He let Harry know they were going to travel by apparition and briefly explained it was a wizarding mode of travel and would likely feel like an intense squeeze. They disappeared with a crack and reappeared in an alley right down the street from the Training Institute. Harry swayed on his feet but Scott's hold on his arm kept him upright.

Harry woke up a few hours later in his own bed with minimal recollection of how he got there. He remembered going to the hospital and having the horcrux removed and maybe waking up and traveling back here but his memories were spotty.


	8. Cooking Class

**Note: **After a long break in updates, here is the next chapter. In case anyone forgot, all recognizable Harry Potter places and characters belong to JK Rowling and no copyright infringement is intended. We write purely for fun.

**Chapter 8: Cooking Class **

That next Monday, Harry had his first cooking class. He was surprised to find that Karen was the teacher.

"I thought you were just a counselor," he said to her.

"No," said Karen. "Scott and I are counselors, but we also teach when needed. Your regular cooking instructor was not available today so I am filling in for her. Now, let's start with the basics. Harry, do you know how to pour fluids?"

"Yes," he said. "I poured everyone's drinks each morning at breakfast at the Dursleys since I was eight."

Karen found this odd. "Well," she said. "Please pour some milk."

Harry did so, overfilling it in the process. He was confused. He was able to pour it just fine when he had his sight. How could it be that different?

"You need a liquid level indicator," said Karen. "It will let you know when you have poured all the way."

Next, Karen wanted him to measure certain ingredients. He did so, with some help from Karen, learning to use his fingers to tell if he got the full measurement.

"Now, I would like you to make a grilled ham and cheese sandwich," said Karen. She went to go get him a toaster bag, so that he could make it in the toaster, but Harry was already at the cooker. Karen stood, shocked. How did a 13 year old who was blind know how to use the cooker?

"Harry, wait," said Karen. "Do you know how to use the cooker?"

"Yes," said Harry. "I cooked breakfast every morning at the Dursleys."

"Did you use the oven and cooker?" Karen asked.

"Yes," Harry said.

"How long have you been doing this?" Karen asked, dreading the answer.

"Since I was eight," said Harry.

"Do you understand that it's dangerous to be cooking at that age?" Karen asked.

"But I'm a freak, and freaks have to cook all the meals," Harry said.

"You're not a freak," said Karen. "We will be teaching you how to cook safely. We will start with more of the basics. No oven or cooker today."

Karen handed him bread, butter, ham, and cheese. She instructed him on how to make a ham and cheese sandwich. Once it was made, she showed him how the toaster bags worked. He put the sandwich in the bag, and then put it in the toaster. Once it was done, Harry took it out of the toaster bag. He was surprised at the result. It was perfect.

"Using the toaster to make these sandwiches is a great starter for everyone with a visual impairment," said Karen.

"But I used to do more than that!" said Harry.

"But you were taught to cook at a very young age," said Karen. "I highly doubt you were properly taught how to cook safely."

Harry sighed. Karen was probably right. He never liked cooking, because he never felt safe in the kitchen.

"Do you know how to wash the dishes?" Karen asked.

"Yes," Harry said. He still remembered the look on Aunt Petunia's face when she saw a dish was not squeaky clean. He couldn't forget the punishment he got from his uncle that day. He hated doing dishes after that.

"Harry?" Karen's voice cut across his thoughts. He snapped back to reality.

"Are you ok?" Karen asked.

"I'm fine," Harry said automatically.

"You are dismissed as soon as you finish washing the dishes," said Karen.

Harry quickly started doing the dishes. He picked up the knife he had to wash. He started thinking about how stressed out he had been since losing his sight. He just wanted all the horrible feelings to go away, but he could never find something that would work enough to relieve his pain. But he couldn't do anything with Karen in the room, because she would tell Scott, and he didn't want to have another talk with him about his feelings. Harry quickly finished the dishes and fled the room.

Karen watched him was he washed the dishes and followed him out of the room, deciding to have a quick word with Scott.

"Scott, I'm getting very concerned," said Karen. "I observed Harry in cooking class today, and he seemed to know a lot more than a normal 13 year old. He says that he cooked meals for the Dursleys all the time, starting around age eight."

"That's too young, for anyone," said Scott.

"But that's not all," said Karen. "When I wanted him to do the dishes, he seemed to be in his own world for a moment. I got him out of his thoughts, but once he actually started the dishes, he was just holding the knife, as though he was considering doing something, but then he just washed it and moved on to the plate and cup. Did you ever talk to him about whether he self harms?"

"I did. He confessed and told me that he didn't want to do it again, but that there are times when he is tempted."

"Well, I suggest that you have another talk with him," said Karen. "Maybe see what upset him today."

"I will talk to him when I see him tomorrow," said Scott. "Thank you Karen."

Karen left the room feeling concerned for Harry, but trusting Scott's judgment.


	9. Caught

Note: This chapter mentions self-harm, nothing graphic but it is a theme.

**Chapter 9: Caught **

Harry felt stressed out after the cooking class. He needed to talk to someone but couldn't trust adults because the Dursleys always told him that adults wouldn't want to hear his complaints. In fact, there was a time where he didn't feel well, but when he told his aunt, she just gave him a dirty look and said that he needed to stop complaining. He made it back to his room with the stress and tension still eating at him as he continued trying to figure out how to get a break from it. He certainly did not want to go to dinner but knew that if he didn't show up, someone, probably Clara, would come looking for him.

When Harry got down to dinner, he was surprised to hear Scott talking to Clara. He found Rose already sitting at the table they usually shared.

"What is Scott still doing here?" Harry asked Rose.

"Kelsey can't come in tonight, so Scott has to take over in Support Services," said Rose. "Clara's about to leave, so she's telling him last minute stuff, I guess."

Harry thought that this was great news. Scott couldn't see him, so he could easily sneak something into his room without Scott finding out. Then he could relieve his stress. He remembered telling Scott that he didn't want to do it again, but he couldn't stand it anymore, there was no way he was saying anything to anyone about it.

After dinner, Harry tried to grab his knife to take it back to his room, but Rose caught him.

"Harry, what are you doing with your knife?" she asked.

"Nothing," Harry said, putting it in his pocket and hurrying out before Rose could say anything else.

He was in the hall, almost to his room, when Rose caught up to him. She had enough vision to see that he still had that knife. She blocked the door to his room.

"Hey, who's there?" Harry asked.

"It's Rose," said Rose. "Harry, what are you doing with a knife? You're not supposed to take the knife from the cafeteria!"

"I'm not doing anything, now I need to get into my room," Harry said.

"Harry, you can't fool me," said Rose. "I know why you have a knife. My mom's a doctor. She has to deal with this stuff way too much at her work. Now maybe you should put that knife back where it belongs."

Harry didn't know why, but he was getting angry. He knew that Rose was trying to keep him from hurting himself, but she was getting on his nerves.

"Rose, thank you for your help, but I'll take it from here," said Scott's voice.

Harry gulped. Not good, not good at all.

"Harry, come with me to Support Services," said Scott. Harry followed him, wondering if there was any way to avoid another conversation about his feelings, but knowing it wouldn't be easy.

Harry sat in a chair in the Support Services office. Once the door was closed, Scott started questioning him.

"Harry, what is going on? Karen told me that you were acting rather strangely in cooking class today."

"I'm fine," Harry said, knowing that this wouldn't get him out of anything, but he had to try.

"The fact that you were taking something sharp to your room, tells me that you're not fine. Karen also said that you were just holding the knife for a moment when you were doing the dishes, as though you were thinking about doing something with it. So tell me. What's bothering you?"

"I'm just stressed out, it's no big deal!" Harry snapped.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong," said Scott, not bothered by Harry's tone of voice. He had experienced much worse during his healers' training.

Harry knew that only way to get out of this was to start talking.

"Fine," Harry said with a sigh. "Ever since losing my sight thanks to my cousin, I've been stressed out. There, happy?"

"What stresses you out most about not having your vision?" Scott asked.

"I can't see anything! I can't even do things with my eyes anymore! It's hard to do everything by feel and hearing! I don't understand how blind people do it so well?"

"I understand," said Scott. "I, myself, lost my vision when I was a student at Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey couldn't restore my eyesight, and I thought that it was going to be very hard to learn to do everything by sound and touch. But I soon found that after giving myself a fair chance at learning to do things the blind way, I realized that it's not that hard once you get used to it. I know this may sound crazy to you, but you will get used to it as well."

"But also, everyone treats me like a baby," Harry said. "Karen acted as though I shouldn't know how to cook."

"Oh I see," said Scott. "Well, I don't think her intention was to make you think that you shouldn't be cooking. She was merely surprised that you knew so much at a young age. Honestly, I think what shocked her more is that you have been cooking since age eight."

"That's not normal?" Harry asked, confused.

"At age thirteen, yes, it can be normal, for some," said Scott. "But at age eight, that's very young for someone to be cooking, especially cooking for the entire household with no supervision. What would happen if you made a mistake while you were cooking at your aunt and uncle's?"

"I would get in trouble," Harry said.

"And what would that mean?"

"It would just mean that I got punished."

"What would they do to punish you?" Scott asked, knowing that Harry was not telling him everything, but he had to know so that he could help him.

"They would beat me," Harry said.

"With what?" Scott asked.

"Belt," Harry said shortly.

Scott decided to move on, for now, to the next part. He would talk with Harry more about these things during their counseling sessions.

"So did all of this stress you've been feeling been making you feel like you should harm yourself with a knife?"

"Yes," Harry said quietly.

"May I see that knife?" Scott asked.

Harry took it out of his pocket and handed it over.

"Do you remember what you told me the other day?" Scott asked.

"That I didn't want to cut again?" Harry asked.

"Exactly. I am your counselor here, and it is my job to help you with your goals. I will help you, even though you were not exposed to people helping you, I am here, and I am going to help you from this point on."

"But I won't have you once I leave here, right?" Harry asked.

"Actually, I don't know about that," said Scott. "I got a letter from Molly Weasley asking if you could see a mind healer to help you with your struggles."

"Oh no, someone from St. Mungo's!" Harry said in a panic. "I heard that those healers are really bossy and controlling."

"Oh, so you call me bossy and controlling?" Scott asked.

"Wait, what?" Harry asked, caught off guard.

"Yes Harry, I'm a trained mind healer," said Scott. "I may not work with other healers very often, but I talked to the other healers, and we agreed that because you lost your sight later in life, and I can relate to some of this stress, it may be beneficial for me to be your healer."

"You're my healer?" Harry asked.

"That's correct. Molly has already said yes to this, and because you are underage, there's not much you can do about it. Now, please remember that if you have any problems or concerns, talk to me. I will help you in any way I can."

"Do you ever work with the healers from St. Mungo's?" Harry asked.

"Once in awhile, they will ask me to come in during an emergency. So I do have some experience."

"Have you ever had to leave here to go to St. Mungo's?" Harry asked.

"Yes. However, Carrie is very understanding. She knows that I have duties in the Wizarding World that I need to tend to. She does not mind."

"Oh," Harry said. He really didn't want to see anyone, but he knew he had no choice.

"I know this is hard to hear, but instead of focusing on the fact that you lost your sight, try to focus on the training you're getting here. The teachers are all saying that some days, you're focused, and some you're not. Just try to focus on your training. All of the teachers are here to help you learn to live without your sight."

"Ok," Harry said. "I'll try."

"All right Harry," said Scott. "If you need to talk at any time, just say something. Do you feel better?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "Can I go now?"

"Yes, you can. Go on. Go play with Rose. I think she wants you to play Monopoly with her."

"But Monopoly is for sighted people!" Harry said.

"No, we have a braille version here. Now go. I need to get some work done in here. We wouldn't want Carrie to find out that I did nothing all night, would we?"

"Right." Harry got up and left the room.


	10. Trust

**Chapter 10: Trust **

A few days later, Ron and Hermione came to see him again.

"Hey mate," Ron said.

"Harry, how are your classes?" Hermione asked.

"My classes are fine," Harry said. "I can't wait to return to Hogwarts."

"Well, maybe you can ask if you can spend the weekend at Hogwarts," Ron said.

"I would love to, but who do I have to ask?" Harry wondered.

"Maybe you can ask Scott," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I guess," Harry said. "Come on."

The three friends walked to Scott's office. Ron and Hermione found it amazing how the whole building had braille signs.

"Hello," said Scott.

"Hey, these are my friends, Ron and Hermione," Harry said.

"Hello to both of you. What can I do for you Harry?"

"I was wondering if I could spend this weekend at Hogwarts," Harry said.

"Well, as long as you are back on Sunday evening, yes, I don't mind," Scott said. "I will let the Headmaster and your Head of House know. Please come here on Friday at 1600, so I can send you there by portkey."

"Thank you," Harry said, feeling happy that he could at least stay at Hogwarts for 2 days.

They left the office quietly. Once they were back in the dorm hallway, Ron spoke up. "Hey mate, he's a really nice counselor," he said. "You're lucky. You get to come see us this weekend!"

"Yes, but we heard that you sometimes are tempted to cut," Hermione said. "So we'll be keeping a close eye on you."

Harry groaned, just great, more people to get on his case.

On Friday, Harry waited impatiently as Scott explained how a portkey worked.

"Ok, can I go now?" Harry asked just as Scott finished explaining.

"In a moment. I would like you to know that Madam Pomfrey knows about your stress and other things you and I have talked about. If there are any problems, please let her know so that I can come speak with you if needed. But hopefully, you won't need me."

"Ok, now can I go?" Harry asked.

Scott felt like Harry wasn't totally listening to him, but decided to let him go.

Harry landed in Professor McGonagall's office.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter," said her voice. "Do you need assistance to Gryffindor Tower?"

"Yes please," Harry said. He still didn't feel comfortable walking alone in the castle without his sight.

As soon as he got to Gryffindor Tower, Ron and Hermione came hurrying up to him.

After talking for a little while, the three friends made their way to the Great Hall. They sat down at the Gryffindor table. A few minutes later, Draco Malfoy approached the Gryffindor table with an evil grin on his face. Suddenly, Harry felt someone grabbing him by both the shoulders and yanking him up. He screamed. He didn't know who was grabbing him, but he had a feeling it was Ron. He knew that he couldn't trust anyone, not even his friends.

"Oi, Malfoy, let him go!" He heard Ron's voice yell.

So it was Malfoy who had him by the shoulders.

Hermione saw what was happening, and quickly got the attention of Professor McGonagall. The stern professor made her way to their table, a furious look on her face.

"Mr. Malfoy!" she said sternly. "Let go of Mr. Potter this instant! You're scaring him."

Harry felt like he was going to pass out. Malfoy had him in a tight grip, and he couldn't even get out of his grasp. He felt his breathing quicken. He felt like he was going to die. Suddenly, he heard Professor McGonagall telling Malfoy to let him go. He felt the hold on him loosen then disappear.

"This is not over, Potter," Harry heard Malfoy whisper in his ear. He flinched at the sound of that threat.

"Potter," said the cold voice of Professor Snape. "Come with me."

"Severus, he did nothing wrong," said Professor McGonagall.

"Leave it Minerva," Snape drawled. Harry stood quickly, not wanting to get into more trouble with the bat of the dungeons.

"Take my arm," Professor Snape barked. Harry quickly did so, following him to the dungeons.

By the sound of the door shutting and locking, he had a feeling they were in his office.

"Sit down," said Professor Snape.

Harry was surprised to hear the Professor use soft tones, not his normal cold tone.

"What happened between you and Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Snape asked. "Instead of fighting him off of you, you just stood there, looking far away and you let him grab you like that."

"At first, I thought it was Ron," Harry admitted.

"But Mr. Weasley is one of your friends. Why would you think that he would grab you without warning?" Professor Snape asked.

Harry remained silent. He didn't want to make the greasy git think he was weak.

"Mr. Potter," said Professor Snape sternly. "Are you going to speak to me, or do I need to get your healer?"

Harry gulped. How did he know that Harry was seeing a healer? He decided to just talk so that Professor Snape wouldn't get more people involved.

"Fine," Harry said. "I don't trust anyone."

"You don't trust anyone?" Professor Snape asked. He had been under the impression that the Potter brat trusted everyone to get him what he wanted, since he was famous.

"Well, no, because people let you down in the end," Harry said.

"Who says?" Professor Snape asked.

"My aunt and uncle, and previous experiences," Harry said.

"Well, who cares what those Muggles say," Professor Snape snarled. "The Weasleys are your guardians now. Don't you trust the Weasleys at all?"

"No," Harry said. He was getting annoyed now. "Don't you get it? I don't trust anyone!"

"Isn't there one person you trust?" Professor Snape asked.

"Well, I trust Clara from the Support Services office at the Training Institute," Harry said. "And I'm starting to trust Scott."

Professor Snape took a moment to collect himself. He wasn't fond of the Potter boy, but he had to be there to support him.

"Mr. Potter, I was in school with Scott," Professor Snape said. "He was a Gryffindor, but everyone thought that he should have been in Hufflepuff. He was really the kindest boy I've ever met. He was one of the only Gryffindors I could tolerate."

"One of them?" Harry asked. "Who else?"

Professor Snape cursed under his breath. Now he would have to tell him about Lily.

"Your mother," he said. "She was my friend until my fifth year. Scott was in his seventh year at that time. When your mother and I had a fight, Scott tried to help us sort out the problem, but I was so angry, that I told him to stay out of our problems. I regret that now. He had taken healer training from Madam Pomfrey, and so he was already trying to help students with their conflicts even before being a healer. Now I wish that I could back and fix that."

"So because you didn't let him help, you and my mum stopped being friends?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Professor Snape said. "But that's beside the point. You should really trust Scott more. He's kind, intelligent, and a wonderful listener. Everyone looks up to him, just like people look up to the Headmaster. Do you trust the Headmaster?"

"Not really, no," Harry said thoughtfully. "He doesn't make the best choices sometimes, but he doesn't mean any harm."

"Exactly," Professor Snape agreed. "But Scott is a very good person to turn to for help. I highly encourage you to try to get to know him while you're at the Training Institute."

"Ok," Harry agreed. If Professor Snape was talking nicely about someone, then that had to be a good sign.

"Now, go, before curfew," said Professor Snape. "I won't let you off the hook if you're out after curfew."

The next morning, Harry explained about his meeting with Professor Snape, to his friends.

"Bloody hell mate!" said Ron. "Snape was talking nice about someone? And he wasn't mean to you?"

"It's Professor Snape, Ronald!" said Hermione in a huff.

"Who do you think you are, Dumbledore?" Ron asked, irritated.

"No," Hermione huffed. "I'm just trying to remind you about manners."

"Yeah, I don't know why Professor Snape was being so nice," Harry said. "But I feel better after talking to him."

The rest of that weekend passed quickly. Harry went back to the Training Institute on Sunday evening. Kelsey greeted him before telling him to go ahead and find Rose.

On Monday morning, Scott found Harry at breakfast.

"Yeah," Harry was saying to Rose. "I don't know why my teacher was so nice all of a sudden. I've never left a meeting with him without being insulted about ten times."

"Harry, please come with me," said Scott. "I want to have a word with you before you go to class."

Scott had Harry go into the library, so they wouldn't have to walk all the way down to his office.

"Harry, I received a letter from Professor Snape," said Scott.

"Oh no, what did he want?" Harry asked. Did he tell Scott what happened that weekend?

"He merely wanted to tell me about his meeting with you this weekend," Scott said.

"Oh," Harry said. "Well, he was nice to me for once."

"How was he nice to you?" Scott asked.

"Well, he was telling me to start trusting you," Harry said. "Then he just started telling me about his time at Hogwarts about him and my mother and how you tried helping them but Professor Snape wouldn't let you."

"Harry, for Professor Snape to mention your mother is a surprise," said Scott. "Once your mother and father were killed, I contacted him to try talking to him about it, but he told me that the conversation was closed. This is probably the first time he's talked about her since then."

"Wow," Harry said. "Did someone cast a cheering charm on him or something?"

Scott laughed. "I doubt it. He wouldn't let anyone do that to him. Now, I hope that you are doing better? Do you think that Ron would betray you as a friend?"

"No," Harry said. "I guess not."

"I'm going to help you learn when to and when not to trust people. You will find that you can trust many more people than you thought you could. And I must say, try to give Professor Snape a chance. He hasn't always been the bat of the dungeons."

They laughed before departing.


	11. Magic Is A Secret?

**Author's Note**: All recognizable Harry Potter characters and locations belong to JK Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended. We write for fun. This is one of the final chapters before moving on to a sequel. Enjoy!

**Chapter 11: Magic is a Secret? **

The next couple of weeks passed uneventfully. Harry's training continued, and now he could see why Scott wanted him to accept his vision loss and move on. He found that once he did, he learned so much more. One Wednesday afternoon, Harry and Rose were chatting in the social room.

"So you go to a boarding school 9 out of 12 months of the year?" Rose asked.

"Yes, it's called Hogwarts," Harry said.

"And you have a teacher called Professor Snape?" Rose asked. "What does he teach?"

"Potions," Harry said.

"Excuse me, but what did you say?" Rose asked.

"He teaches Potions," Harry said.

"Um, Harry, potions don't exist," Rose said.

"Yes they do," Harry said. "I'm a wizard, you know."

"Harry, I'm sorry, but you've gone crazy," Rose said. "Magic, wizards, potions, they don't exist. They're not real!"

Harry couldn't believe that Rose didn't believe him. He was quickly losing his temper.

"Listen, I'm not crazy," Harry said. "Magic is real. I am a wizard, I have friends who are witches and wizards, we use wands to cast spells, and take classes like potions to learn how to use our magic properly."

"I've had enough!" Rose snapped. "Come talk to me when you're finished talking nonsense!"

"Fine!" harry snapped back. "Come talk to me once you are ready to believe me!"

For the rest of the day, Harry and Rose ignored each other. Harry wrote Hermione a letter with what happened, asking her what he did wrong.

Early the next morning, Hermione sent a reply.

_Dear Harry, _

_What were you thinking? You can't tell Muggles about magic! Very few Muggles believe in magic. You are only supposed to tell Muggles about it if you're going to have a job with Muggles where magic might come in handy. Harry, you shouldn't have told Rose about it, you had no reason to! No wonder she acted the way she did! Most Muggles would call us crazy! I thought that Professor McGonagall was crazy when she first told me that she was a witch. It took some time to believe her. _

_Be careful Harry, you could get in trouble with the Ministry if they find out about this. Just apologize to Rose. _

_Hermione _

Harry sat, stunned. He didn't even realize that it was illegal to tell muggles about magic, unless there was a good reason to. He decided to just apologize to Rose and try to explain things to her. After all, she would eventually believe him, like Hermione believed Professor McGonagall, right?

At breakfast, Harry found Rose and sat next to her. She didn't even say hello to him.

"Er, Rose, I'm sorry," Harry said. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to tell you that I am a wizard, that's all. I didn't mean…"

"Stop it!" Rose yelled. "You are still talking nonsense!"

Harry felt tears in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He just wanted his friend to believe him.

"Is there a problem here?" Karen's voice asked.

"Yes, Harry is claiming that he's magical," Rose said in a huff. "He's crazy Karen!"

Karen realized at once what the problem was. "Ok, both of you, follow me," Karen said.

Harry and Rose followed Karen. Harry realized by the familiar route, that they were going to Scott's office.

Karen told them both to sit down.

"What's going on?" Scott asked. He was very curious to know what could be going on now.

"Harry's crazy," Rose said. "He's claiming that he's a wizard and that he has a teacher that teaches Potions. Honestly, it's all a bunch of nonsense, because magic doesn't exist!"

"Oh I see," Scott said. "Rose, if you will please step into the hall, I need to have a word with Harry. I will come out to get you in just a moment."

Rose left the room, with Karen right behind her.

"Harry, has anyone told you about the law about telling Muggles about magic?" Scott asked.

"Hermione did in a letter early this morning," Harry said. "I know that I shouldn't have told her, but since she knows now, I was just trying to show her that I'm not crazy."

"I see. Well, you need to be careful. I will not tell the Ministry about this, seeing as that's not my place to tell them, and you're still underage, but if this happens again, action will have to be taken."

"I understand," Harry said, feeling a lump in his throat. "Does that mean we have to put a memory charm on her?"

"No. Normally we would, but I would much rather deal with this quietly, and explain things to her so she'll understand. I will be having a word with Rose. Please leave this up to me. Thank you Harry, for your time today."

Harry took that as his cue to leave. He walked out and told Rose she could go in.

At lunch, Harry was just sitting down to eat when he heard running footsteps.

"Harry!" said Rose, sitting next to him. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to be so mean to you! I just didn't understand. I understand now, and I hope you will forgive me."

"Of course I forgive you!" Harry said. He was glad to have his friend back.


	12. The Last Day

Author's Note: This is the end of this story. There will be a sequel coming out soon. Thanks for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed this story!

**Chapter 12: Last Day **

The next couple of weeks went by quickly. Scott took the time to go over some of the Ministry laws with Harry so that he wouldn't make such a big mistake again. Rose also sat in on a few conversations, in case Rose wanted to see Harry at Hogwarts. Harry asked if it was possible for muggles to enter Hogwarts. Scott explained that muggles could only enter the grounds of Hogwarts if the person wore a special necklace.

But sadly, it was finally time to go back to Hogwarts. Harry was happy to be going back, but he would also miss the Training Institute. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came to the exit meeting, along with Professor Dumbledore. Harry sat, waiting for the other teachers to arrive.

"Welcome," said Scott. "We are here to discuss Harry Potter's progress while here at the Training Institute. I will start, then I will hand it over to the other teachers. Molly and Arthur Weasley, Harry's guardians are here along with Albus Dumbledore, who is the Headmaster at Harry's boarding school. Harry lost his sight as a result of being stabbed in the eyes by his cousin, Dudley Dursley. Harry was removed from his aunt and uncle when myself and some others found out that Harry had been abused. Harry still has doubts about being abused, and he often has panic attacks, but I have been given the role of being Harry's healer, or as some of you might understand it as, a magical doctor or therapist. I will be seeing Harry at Hogwarts once every other week, unless I get a message saying that I need to see him right away."

"That won't happen," Harry mumbled, hoping that no one else had heard him. Little did he know that Mrs. Weasley heard him and frowned in response.

Scott spent a few more minutes talking about what they covered while Harry was at the Training Institute, then he let the teachers speak. The Cooking teacher talked about how Harry had already known how to do basic cooking, but was concerned that Harry often burnt things, especially bacon. The Braille teacher explained that Harry was using contracted braille, but was still a bit slow. She told him to continue practicing. The Travel teacher explained that Harry often got frustrated after making a mistake, and more than once had to dismiss Harry from class so he could calm down. The teacher said that Harry should keep travelling to gain confidence. Karen talked about the times that Harry was in her office, and the times where she was a substitute for one of the teachers.

After the meeting, Mrs. Weasley hugged Harry, and was relieved that Harry didn't flinch at her touch. Professor Dumbledore took Harry to Hogwarts, where his friends tried to squeeze all the air out of him in their happiness to have him back. Harry hoped that Rose would write a letter to him soon. It would be great to have Rose visit him at Hogwarts. Rose was still at the Training Institute, and would be there for another month, so Harry told her to give her letters to Scott so he could owl them to him.

Harry was glad to be back. He was still scared that he would get lost, and he wasn't looking forward to the teasing by the Slytherins, but he was still back where he belonged with his friends. He went to Professor McGonagall's office to get his schedule for the next day. He was relieved to see it in braille.

"Scott said that he taught you how to change print into braille," said Professor McGonagall. "So I expect that for now on, if you are given something in print, you will change it to braille. We also expect for you to have your assignment changed into print before you turn it in. None of us can read braille."

"Yes Professor," Harry said, imagining her stern countenance.

"Very well. You do know where Gryffindor Tower is, do you not?"

"Yes Professor, I do," said Harry. He walked out of her office without another word.


End file.
